Event Coverage: Kinyoobi Con 2012

What a fun little event this was. We went for one day, on Saturday, the 11th, and we got to do quite a bit. This convention has the potential to be bigger, but at the same time its nice to go to a smaller event where the fans are definitely the focus.

Kinyoobi Con 2012
August 11-12, 2012. Hilton Newark/Fremont Hotel, California.
Pictures by Jia Soon.The dealer room was probably the weakest aspect of the convention. It seemed like it was a mix of both a traditional dealer room and an artist gallery and a meet and greet for a guest of honor. It was weird because there was also a room across the way that looked like another artist room. A minor gripe, but I wanted to get that out of the way.The cosplay contest was more a show and tell of all the different costumes. Each cosplayer came up, their costume was described including what was used to make it, and then they’d do a little skit. It was especially fun for the crowd because of the MC of the event who brought tons of energy. The actual winner of the contest didn’t seem as important to the overall fun everyone was having. Also, mad hype when Mr. America came out!The gaming room was great. Small and to the point. There were scheduled tourney’s throughout the day with gift card prizes. All types of games were there for everyone to play, including Dance Central in the corner. Sturdy Pine even entered in one of the tourney’s for Virtual Fighter 5: Final Strike. I was eliminated at Top 8, whereas Mr. Timtastic got Top 4! Congrats!!! (secret: There were only 8 entries, lol)

Later in the night was a live concert from akaiSKY, which was really fun. That was followed by the Anime Charity Date Auction. It started off with our own Mr. Timtastic trying to sell himself for charity, only to receive a pity bid of $1 from the MC. (whomp whomp). The rest of the male auctions went to no bidders, whereas the girls were going for double digit bids. One man, dressed as Harry Potter, shattered all expectations and received a $50+ bid from The Baroness! (Don’t worry, I won’t tell Destro) If there was one man at Kinyoobi Con that was the enbodiment of Swag, it was this man.

The night ended with a rave. This rave was unique because there were go-go dancers. The only other dance with something similar was at fanime a few years back with girls dancing behind a screen, where all we got was a sillouette. This dance, however was plagued with the cancer of group circle dancing. It happens at every con, and it just seems to kill the mood as everyone stands and watches. Overall, a great rave indeed.

I’m looking forward to seeing this convention grow in the future. Sturdy Pine will be back next year with more coverage.